![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Europeans were intrigued with the possibilities presented for new beginnings in these "new" lands. The theme of Utopianism is linked to the explorations of new lands. As modern readers, sensitive to the legacy of colonialism, we need to ask if Shakespeare sees this as the right order what are his views of imperialism and colonialism? What are our twentieth century reactions to the depiction of the relationship between the master and slave, shown in this play? But Prospero does not drive Caliban away, rather he enslaves him, forcing him to do work he considers beneath himself and his noble daughter. ![]() He teaches this "native" his language and customs, but this nurturing does not affect the creature's nature, at least from Prospero's point of view. Prospero lands on an island with a native inhabitant, Caliban, a being he considers savage and uncivilized. The play can be read as Shakespeare's commentary on European exploration of new lands. The period in which it was written, the seventeenth century age of exploration, the circumstances of its performance at court, and the context of the playwright's writing career suggest immediately some of its rich themes and ambiguities. Scholars attribute the immediate source of the play to the 1609 shipwreck of an English ship in Bermuda and travelers' reports about the island and the ordeal of the mariners. The Tempest is generally regarded as Shakespeare's last play, first performed in 1611 for King James I and again for the marriage festivities of Elizabeth, the King's daughter, to Frederick, the Elector Palatine. ![]()
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